How to Set Up SMART Behavior Goals
Plenty of studies show that people who take even a few seconds to put their goals on paper are 5 to 10 times as likely to achieve them.
Today - Get out a pen and an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper, and do what most people aren’t willing to do . . .
Write out your goals.
To unlock the power of goal setting, use the following tips:
Goals should be specific and measurable
A good goal can be measured accurately and is specific enough to direct your focus on the change that’s most needed or important to you.
I will look really good naked doesn’t really give you anything measurable or specific to work on.
However, I will lose 20 lbs of body fat does. It’s specific to one area of improvement (body fat) and it includes a measurable outcome (20 lbs).
Goals should be challenging but realistic
Goals must be big enough to inspire you to action, but not so big that you get frustrated with the impossibility of accomplishing them.
If you’re 80 pounds overweight, setting a goal of being on the cover of a fitness magazine in 6 months time isn’t realistic. But a goal of losing 10 pounds in the next year, while realistic, is too small to be inspiring.
For fat loss, a good rule of thumb is to expect 0.5 to 1 pound of fat loss per week.
If you don’t know whether your goal is realistic or not, consult an expert or ask around on the forums. That’s where I come in!
Goals should have short-term and long-term components
When setting your goals, make sure you’ve got small goals that are applicable to today, bigger goals that are applicable to next week, bigger goals yet applicable to next month, and the biggest goals applicable to next year.
By setting aside little time points, you’ll have mile markers on the way to your success. It also helps you appreciate the fact that great long term progress feels like it’s happening pretty slowly.
Frame your goals around behaviors, not just outcomes
I prefer to make behavior goals rather than goals. Do you know the difference between a behavior and an outcome goal? Well, a behavior goal is based on something you can directly control and do yourself; an outcome goal is based on the end product of a series of behaviors.
Most people set only outcome goals, such as the following:
“I will lose ten pounds in ten weeks.”
“I will make $100,000 next year.”
While these goals are specific and measurable and may be challenging and attainable, one problem is this: they’re outcomes. And outcomes are often beyond your control.
After all, you can’t control your fat cells and their rate of fat metabolism by just hoping they’ll shrink. And you can’t force someone to pay you $100,000 per year. What you can control, however, are your behaviors.
So how can you pick better goals, goals based on behaviors? Try these on for size:
Want to lose ten pounds in ten weeks? Then start by understanding what behaviors you can adopt immediately that’ll lead to this result. Make these your goals. Here are a few examples:
I will exercise for at least five hours per week.
I will eat slowly and pay more attention to my intake.
I will eat vegetables with every meal.
I will avoid alcohol this week.
You’ll notice that there are a lot of things that have to happen here — things you probably never thought of at first.
Keep it simple; don’t get overwhelmed or try to attack this all at once.
All you have to do is tackle ONE small thing at a time.
For instance, if your goal is to exercise for at least five hours per week. Get into the habit of using a calendar to plan your time this week. This means adding a task on your mobile calendar or hard copy calendar.
During this initial skill-building period, you might not even drop a pound. That doesn’t matter; you’re working on the calendar thing right now.
Next week, you’ll be able to do the next thing.
Here is a great illustration of how what you do today will eventually add up to the outcome/goal you set for yourself.
If you’d like to get better at a thing, don’t try to tackle all the things within that thing at once. In the end, if you make goals out of behaviors, behaviors you can control, your outcome goals (things like your body composition) will fall right in line without you having to worry about them.
Start small. Here’s how.
Be open and coachable. Accept feedback. Have “beginner’s mind.” Be open to the idea that your perceptions may be inaccurate.
Let yourself be “imperfect.” It’s completely OK to suck at things. No one is perfect. If you want to get better at things, you can. It just takes learning, guidance, and practice. No biggie.
Review and plan out ALL the steps involved in what you’re trying to do. Then subdivide those steps… because you’ve probably missed several that you weren’t even conscious of.
Keep working backwards and looking for links in the chain. Every time you get stuck, do a “reverse-engineering analysis.” What is needed to happen before the thing you were trying to do?
Work on ONE thing at a time. Don’t try to do all the things.
Measure and assess. You may think you can or can’t do a thing… but how do you know? Figure out how to objectively measure what you’re doing: Use timers, measuring tapes, photos, or other ways of tracking and documenting facts and data.
Get feedback, instruction, and coaching. Look around. Who can help you get better at the things? (Hint, hint: I am pretty good at that.)